Despite being a predominantly white institution (PWI), EMU has a large population of non-white students and the number is steadily increasing. As EMU’s Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) population grows, students are beginning to wonder when the same will happen for the faculty on campus.
The EMU website is home to the EMU Factbook. Here you can find statistics about almost anything on campus, including the racial demographics of both students and faculty. The Factbook gives a comprehensive breakdown of the racial identities of both students and faculty and the percentage they make up in their respective populations. These statistics reveal a lot about diversity on EMU’s campus and have opened up conversations about the growing population of BIPOC students and the stagnant population of BIPOC faculty.
The statistics for the 2022-23 school year have yet to be uploaded in the factbook. Therefore, the most recent statistics are from the past 2021-22 school year.
When looking at the racial demographics of EMU students from the 2021-22 school year, the campus was fairly diverse. BIPOC students made up 34.5% of the student population, with traditional undergraduate BIPOC students making up 37.3% of the EMU undergraduate population. An improvement was made from the previous 2020-21 school year when BIPOC students made up 31.8% of the student population and 35% of the undergraduate population.
While an improvement in the student BIPOC population can be seen, the same cannot be said for the faculty. The racial demographics of EMU faculty were inconsistent with the student body, with BIPOC professors making up 11% of the 2021-22 faculty. To be more specific, of the 82 EMU faculty members, only nine were not white. The same can be said for the BIPOC faculty of the 2020-21 school year; 11% were BIPOC with only nine non-white professors.
The contrast between BIPOC faculty and white faculty has not gone unseen by students, specifically the BIPOC students on campus. Many have expressed that the lack of diversity causes them to feel underrepresented and as though they aren’t being introduced to multiple perspectives during class. Junior Social Work major Tatiana Ayala stated that she would like to see more diversity, especially in the social work department. “I appreciate the experience that the white professors have but I think it would be a little more beneficial to have people from our cultures teach us,” she shared.
Sophomore Nussa Garti held the same sentiments when talking about the numerous departments on campus. “There’s a lot of different departments [at EMU],” Garti shared, “I feel like different perspectives would be good for those departments, not just a white person’s perspective.”
Other students feel that having someone who looks like them in the classroom will help them build connections with their professors and see them as a source of inspiration. Sophomore Adrianna Jacobs shared, “having a professor that can relate to me would be nice,” as she spoke about the connections many students have made with their professors on campus.
Junior Mya Hamlet expressed the same idea. “I do recognize [EMU’s] effort in trying to get teachers of color into the school,” Hamlet began, “[but] I would really like to see more professors, specifically Black women in teaching roles. I think that’s very important for me to relate to them, it would be inspiring to see.”
While BIPOC students are happy with the education they’re receiving at EMU, many would appreciate a more diverse faculty. There’s hope that within upcoming years, students will start seeing professors who better represent the diverse campus. A diverse faculty means more diversity of thought and in a college setting, the more perspectives, the better.
